The Gift of a Lifetime Read online

  She extended her hand and Trevor reached out to shake it. ‘Of course. Nice to meet you too, Beth, for real this time. I’m Trevor Jeffers.’ He took back his hand and placed it around Jodi’s waist. Beth smiled, instantly liking this. ‘So,’ he continued, ‘I hear that our mission is two-fold today. To find me a sailboat to buy, and help you out with what Jodi described as some kind of treasure hunt? Forgive me, but I didn’t quite follow all the details…’

  Beth grinned at her friend, more broadly this time, knowing that Jodi wasn’t trying to hide the reason that she was there and wasn’t embarrassed by her madcap antics either. No matter the hard persona that Jodi sometimes wore, Beth knew that she was deep down a real softie who cared about her friends and loved them dearly.

  ‘Well, it all sounds a bit mad but I’ll fill you in as best I can,’ Beth said, chatting away about the hunt and the clues as the trio started walking towards the marina where numerous sleek boats waited in the water. ‘The so-far-unnamed mastermind behind this adventure provided me with a bit of a roadmap, I suppose, via this programme. And I have been doing a bit of studying on my own in the meantime, deciding which boats to focus on. There are three that are associated with the name “Angelina”, so I figure that’s as good a place as any to start.’ Beth opened up the brochure and began to read aloud the boats she’d selected as good possibilities the evening before, circling them in pen. ‘Angelina’s Prize, Angelina Asked for It, and this one is a bit of a stretch, Devilish Angel. You two don’t have to stay with me either, you know,’ she added quickly. ‘I know you have other things to do; and I don’t mind checking this out on my own.’

  But Jodi was already shaking her head. ‘Nope, not in your life, honey. I know you think that all of this is sunshine and butterflies, but there too many spots to hide a body around here for my liking. Consider me your shadow today.’

  ‘But I thought you were so sure that Danny planned this?’ Beth replied coyly. ‘You don’t think my own boyfriend would send me to sleep with the fishes, do you?’

  Jodi raised an eyebrow. ‘I didn’t say I thought Danny was behind this. You did. Do you still stand by that?’

  Swallowing hard, Beth rolled her eyes, trying to be nonchalant. She decided to just change the subject. ‘Fine. So you’re coming with me. As long as Trevor is OK with that, too? After all, he’s the one here to do some business, and I’m playing gooseberry to your date.’

  Beth gave a look over Jodi’s shoulder to where Trevor was standing, wondering if he happened to share her friend’s sentiment, but all she saw was a smile and a shrug.

  ‘Don’t look at me,’ he said. ‘I have nothing but time today. If Jodi says that’s the way it’s going to be, that’s the way it’s going to be.’ Beth had to appreciate his chivalrous and gentlemanly behaviour and she was liking him more and more. ‘Besides, as I’ve been to this event before, maybe I can play navigator and help you find the boats you want.’

  Encouraged by this and grateful that she had someone to bounce ideas off this time, Beth followed Trevor and Jodi onto the gang planks, allowing him to lead the way to the first boat on her list of possibilities, Angelina’s Prize, a fifty-one-foot sailing boat.

  As they approached the boat, Trevor became animated, ‘This is a really sharp boat – a really sharp boat,’ he exclaimed. ‘And I recognise this. It was designed by Germán Frers and is an Idylle 15.5. This is a complete cruiser too, and will hold one hundred and thirty-two gallons of fuel.’ His eyes lit up like a window shopper outside Saks. ‘And just look at those solar panels. Get a load of that.’

  Beth glanced at Jodi, wondering what she thought of her boyfriend’s excitement towards boats, but her friend wasn’t giving anything away. She merely looked at Trevor with happiness all over her face and Beth had to smile. Jodi was smitten.

  ‘Well … brilliant,’ Beth said, having no idea what Trevor was talking about. ‘Am I allowed to go on board?’

  ‘Oh, yeah. All of these are open to explore today. Come on, let’s go below deck,’ he said as he helped the two women aboard.

  Having quickly sought out the owner of the boat, Trevor launched into picking the man’s brain over amp alternators, watt inverters and suchlike, all things that Beth and Jodi had no knowledge of or interest in. Instead, the pair looked for anything that might tie Angelina’s Prize to the clue.

  ‘So what do you think we are looking for?’ Jodi asked, taking in the stark interior of the boat. While well appointed, there was very little to personalise the craft – and absolutely nothing to indicate this was the right boat.

  Beth pursed her lips, feeling helpless. ‘Honestly, I have no idea what I am supposed to be looking for – I just feel like I’ll know it when I see it. Come on, this isn’t it.’

  As Beth climbed back up onto the boat’s deck, she distinctly heard Jodi mutter the words, ‘wild-goose chase’ under her breath, but decided to ignore that.

  Following a pointed look from Jodi, Trevor quickly finished his conversation with the boat’s owner, and directed his charges to the next boat on the list, Angelina Asked for It. Beth was impressed at his willingness to help, but it was plain that he was in his element around boats, to say nothing of his adoration of her friend. It was wonderful to see.

  But they had little luck with this boat either. Despite learning from the owner that the watercraft was a Gulfstar Sailmaster with a ‘centre cockpit and the ability to sleep ten people’ – as well as the reason behind the naming of the boat (apparently Angelina, a debutante heiress and the owner’s ex-wife did indeed ‘ask for it’ after she decided to have an affair with the pool boy and did not insist on an iron-clad pre-nup before walking down the aisle), Beth quickly decided that this definitely was not the boat that she was looking for. In fact, the living space of the craft was bedecked top to bottom in NASCAR memorabilia, and she doubted that her secret admirer was trying to point her to the movie Talladega Nights.

  As they made their way over to Devilish Angel, Beth had to admit that at this point she wasn’t feeling hopeful about that one either, as the name had only a tentative connection to ‘Angelina’ in the clue. And the moment that they approached the area where the sailing boat had been listed as being berthed, Beth was sure. Devilish Angel had nothing to do with her quest. Indeed, the slip where they were supposed to find it was empty, the owner of the boat having apparently changed his mind about attending.

  A stiff breeze hit Beth in the face and sprayed salt water against her cheek as she looked out towards the harbour, disappointed and trying to figure out her next move.

  ‘So what now?’ Jodi asked, putting a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder.

  Beth shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I mean, I guessed that I was looking for a boat that was tied to the name Angelina. Like in Romancing the Stone. And I re-watched the movie ending – the bit with the boat – at least three times to commit the boat in question to memory and see if there’s anything like it here today, but nothing.’ She looked at Jodi, and then at Trevor. ‘I’m just not sure where to go from here. I honestly don’t know what I’m supposed to be looking for.’

  The trio started walking back to the boardwalk of the marina, passing boat after boat. Beth kept her eyes to the ground, trying to work over everything in her head and figure out the riddle that her secret admirer (if that’s who it was) was trying to tell her. There had to be a connection here at today’s exhibition. There just had to be. After all, the messenger had delivered this part of the clue right to her door, even though Beth had already figured out how to access the expo on her own.

  She just had to be onto something. But what?

  ‘Ha,’ said Trevor from behind while she and Jodi walked ahead of him. ‘That’s a great name.’ Both women looked up to where he was pointing at the exact same time and focused in on the words inscribed on the side of a sailing boat. No, this was more than just a sailing boat – this was a yacht. It had three sails, easily spanned over sixty feet and was so blindingly white it compared to t
he colour of fresh alpine snow.

  The Seven Year Itch.

  Beth’s spine tingled as she suddenly had a memory of a conversation she and Ryan had had not long after they first met. It was when he’d asked her out, and she told him that she had a boyfriend, and had been with Danny for seven years.

  And what had he said? He had asked her, with that dimply lopsided smile, if she thought the seven-year itch was real. So all this had to be Ryan …

  ‘That’s related to a famous movie, isn’t it?’ Trevor asked.

  Beth felt a spark of excitement as she neared the vessel, sure that she was on to something, but she quickly felt her spirits crash when Jodi asked a pertinent question.

  ‘But what does that have to do with Angelina and Romancing the Stone?’ her friend asked. ‘Just because the boat is named after another movie doesn’t mean that it has anything to do with what Beth is looking for. I think that’s a stretch, Einstein.’

  Beth’s face fell. Jodi was right. If she tried hard enough she could find at least half a dozen boat names here that she could tie to movies, none of which unfortunately helped her solve this riddle.

  The trio continued to stare at The Seven Year Itch; Beth and Jodi trying to figure out what to do next – and Trevor gawping at the vessel with envy and adoration. So focused were they that they didn’t notice when an exotic dark-haired woman crossed the deck of the boat and paused to throw them a greeting.

  ‘Hello there!’ she said with a distinct Asian accent and Beth looked up distractedly. The woman was petite in build, standing no more than five foot one, with long, thick dark hair extending to the middle of her back.

  ‘Hello,’ Trevor called out. ‘We were just admiring your boat. She’s a beauty!’

  ‘Thank you. I appreciate that. She’s a joy to sail too! Would you like to come aboard and take a look?’ The woman smiled, showing her perfect teeth. ‘I’m Angelina Yussopov, but you can call me Lin.’

  Chapter 15

  Beth’s eyes widened in surprise as she heard the woman’s words. ‘What did you say your name was?’ she asked.

  The beautiful Asian woman smiled, as if she knew what Beth was thinking. ‘Angelina, but I go by Lin for short. Do you want to come on board the boat? Take a look around? I’m quite proud of her, but then I’m probably somewhat biased.’

  Trevor was already heading up the small plank that connected the boat with the dock, eager to get on board.

  Beth, though, remained standing in bewildered surprise. This had to be it. Reflecting back, she realised that, since learning about the boat exhibition, she had been so intent on considering the names of the boats in the programme, she had never once thought to look at the owners’ names – nor did she consider that another movie reference would indeed be tied into the completion of this clue.

  The Seven Year Itch. The film made famous by Marilyn Monroe’s white silk dress and that iconic picture of her working her hardest to sexily and flirtatiously hold it down after being caught in the draught from the sidewalk subway vent.

  But what it also must mean was that – much like the assistant at Tiffany’s – this woman Angelina – Lin – was in on the treasure hunt.

  Jodi edged Beth forward, breaking into her thinking – pondering – over who Lin was and how she was connected to this. Or, more to the point, how she might be connected to the instigator, whoever that was.

  ‘Wow, she’s really beautiful. Just gorgeous,’ Trevor was gushing (about the boat, though the same could just as easily be said about the woman) as Beth and Jodi took a look around the deck.

  ‘Thank you,’ Lin replied. ‘It was a gift. I grew up near the water and have always worked in some capacity near or on a boat. My husband gave this to me as a wedding present – we got married last year. We love to sail, travel … the whole gamut, really. He’s in New York on business at the moment, and I figured that I might just take advantage of this exhibition while we were in town. Always nice to meet fellow sailing enthusiasts, you know?’

  ‘Absolutely,’ replied Trevor. ‘I’m thinking about buying a boat myself. This is exactly what I had in mind too. Maybe you could advise me.’

  Lin nodded her approval and turned to Beth and Jodi. ‘Of course. But forgive me; I didn’t catch your names?’

  Beth wondered if Lin really didn’t know who she was, especially if she was involved in the pursuit somehow, but she played along with the pleasantries just the same.

  After introductions had been made, Lin invited Beth and Jodi to go below, remaining on the top deck with Trevor to talk boats.

  Convinced that another clue was located somewhere on this vessel, and feeling that there was deeper meaning to Lin’s encouragement to ‘go take a look around downstairs’, the pair went to see what they would find. Beth was eager to learn who Lin was and why she was party to the treasure hunt – as well as make more progress on her search.

  As they did she confessed her thoughts to her friend. ‘I have no idea what to look for next. Tiffany’s … expensive boats … it’s not as if I hang around in this type of set, you know.’

  ‘And what set is that?’

  Beth rolled her eyes playfully. ‘The glam multi-millionaire jet set, of course. Can you imagine something like this being given to you as a wedding present?’

  Jodi snorted. ‘No, I can’t. “He who must not be named” thought he himself was wedding present enough. Jerk.’

  Looking around, Beth let Jodi bluster away about her errant ex-husband for a moment. When they reached the cabin in the lower deck, they found themselves in a well-appointed living area, furnished with butter-soft leather club chairs and rich hardwood. Beth felt as if she had just entered an exclusive country club. A large plasma TV adorned one wall and what looked like a Picasso (and could very well be one) hung on another. Beth briefly reflected on the idea of hanging priceless works of art on something that could at some point end up underwater but figured that was Lin and her insurance company’s problem.

  One thing was for sure, this was how the one per cent lived. Did Ryan come from a well-off background, she wondered? He’d certainly never given that impression in conversations. But these circumstances, and the world in which the clues were set thus far, well and truly killed off any suspicions that Danny might have been responsible. Like Beth, he came from a decidedly working-class background, a million miles from this salubrious lifestyle.

  No, Beth realised yet again with a heavy heart, this definitely wasn’t Danny’s scene. The big question was, could it be Ryan’s?

  ‘Would you take a look at this place? Gorgeous. I could totally live here,’ Jodi enthused. ‘Maybe I can if Trevor buys something like it. Yes, I could get used to this.’ She chortled. ‘If only that schlep Frank could see me now. Trevor’s the whole package, if you get my drift.’

  Beth smiled, pleased at her friend’s happiness, but in truth her mind was on other things – namely, another clue or some indicator of what was to come next in the hunt.

  She didn’t have to search long. As she walked from the living area into a zone that housed a well-stocked bar, she suddenly spied a shoe box-sized package on the counter. It was a plain beige box, wrapped with a white silk scarf, on top of which was a gift card bearing her name. It read simply ‘Beth’ in an elegant script.

  Her heart immediately hopped into her mouth. ‘Jodi,’ she called out excitedly. ‘You have to come here. Look at this.’

  Hurrying into the room, Jodi found her holding the box. ‘What’s that? Where’d you get it?’

  ‘It was right here. And it has my name on it.’

  Jodi shook her head, trying to take it all in. ‘But how?’ And then the realisation finally dawned. ‘So Lin – Angelina – she is involved in this thing too?’

  Beth shook her head as if it was full of cobwebs. She looked down at the box. ‘Do you suppose I should open it?’

  ‘Well, it has your name on it; I reckon that gives you licence enough. Go on. Open it.’

  Without further ado, Be
th pulled on the end of the white silk scarf, releasing it from its bow. She set the scarf on the counter and opened the nondescript box. It was full of tissue paper, which she quickly extracted and tossed to the ground, looking deeper to find out what the package contained.

  And then with the tissue paper gone, the box revealed its contents. A single Yankees baseball cap. Beth stared at the contents of the box feeling perplexed again.

  ‘Yankees?’ she muttered. ‘But I told him I was a Mets fan…’ She was thinking of that first time she and Ryan went to lunch, when they had joked about his wearing a Red Sox hat in a Yankees bar during a game. She had said that she wouldn’t have been offended since she was a Mets fan.

  ‘What was that?’ Jodi asked sharply, looking over Beth’s shoulder. ‘Who did you tell you were a Mets fan?’

  Beth snapped from her reverie and quickly covered her tracks. ‘Danny, of course. I was just saying he knows I’m a Mets fan so what’s he playing at?’

  Jodi picked the hat up out of the box and turned it upside down, as if looking to see if there was anything hidden inside, anything more to this mystery. ‘So this is another clue then? It has to be.’

  Beth took the hat from Jodi and studied it too. ‘I suppose so,’ she said, confused. ‘But I’m really not sure what this has to do with anything.’ It seemed once again like another obscure clue. Much like the boat itself. What was she supposed to figure out from this? There was no immediate movie reference here that she could make out. So where, if anywhere, was she supposed to go next?

  Quickly she picked up the tissue paper from the ground, cleaning up her mess, and put the hat back in the box. She picked up the white silk scarf, holding it up so it could fall lengthwise and she could fold it. It was a really nice scarf. Hermès, she noted, checking the label. Very fancy. And, once again, expensive too.